Pammy’s Pepe di Rosa has achieved a rare feat for a cocktail: It’s outlived the dish it was meant to be paired with.

Its original inspiration was a plate of fettuccine alfredo made with pink peppercorn and a parmesan cream sauce. “This essentially became a liquid version of it,” says Pammy’s beverage director Moe Isaza.

Fundamentally the drink is a Bee’s Knees variant made with lemon, honey, and gin. But Isaza swaps in a pink peppercorn honey syrup (pepe di rosa is a translation of pink peppercorn) and Bully Boy Distillers Estate Gin for its peppery notes.

Lastly, he adds egg white to turn it into a sour. A triple-shake technique that employs a dry shake, wet shake, and one final dry shake gives the egg white an impressively creamy texture.

“What that does is just basically fluff the drink up,” Isaza says. “It brings a lot more air to the egg white so that you get this beautiful foam at the top.” When served, that frothy head is a bit like a mini-milkshake.

To mask any egg-like aromas, Isaza expresses the lemon peel garnish over the drink and flicks the accompanying basil leaf to better extract their respective fragrances.

The final product is a satisfying mingle of gin dryness and honey sweetness, capped off by a dry, peppery finish that only seems to increase with each sip.

Pepe di Rosa
1½ ounces Bully Boy Estate Gin
¾ ounce pink peppercorn honey syrup*
½ ounce lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 egg white
Lemon peel and basil leaf, for garnish

Add ingredients to shaker and shake to combine. Fill shaker with ice, then shake again until chilled. Strain, remove ice, and return mixture to shaker for a third and final shake. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with basil leaf and lemon peel.

*Pink peppercorn honey syrup (yields about 1 quart)
300 grams pink peppercorns
600 grams clover honey
450 grams water

Heat water until it has just begun to steam, then combine with pink peppercorn in a blender. Allow mixture to sit for five minutes, then pulse blender several times until ingredients are just incorporated. While water is still hot, slowly add honey and blend until mixture reaches a slushy-like consistency. Strain into sealed container and store. Keeps for several months.